Looking at the same picture, people can see different things. Perhaps, King and Queen of the Netherlands were just polite.
On a different note, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna's pseudo Russian garish style is awkward.

__________________

__________________"I never did mind about the little things"
Amanda, "Point of No Return"

An outcast, locked away in Madrid, usually will not get access to the people Maria Vladimirovna has access to... When she was really an outcast, she was not even allowed to be around these folks. That was the point I wanted to make.

Looking at the same picture, people can see different things. Perhaps, King and Queen of the Netherlands were just polite.
On a different note, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna's pseudo Russian garish style is awkward.

I don't think she was that badly dressed at that wedding ball, certainly not the worst dressed or most garish. I think she fits in fine. On this site the Duchess of Castro was voted worst dressed and they considered Sophie of Prussia worst print. There are a bunch that dress badly or in an interesting way.

If that is correct, Dimitri certainly changed his tone quickly.
Perhaps he can move to Crimea and his cousin Maria can head to St Petersburg.
A win-win for the both of them.

The fuss about Crimea is puzzling. It can be just a visit that means nothing. It is possible that Prince Dmitri Romanovich will have a pleasant holiday and go home. Technically speaking, he is a private citizen, who can do as he pleases.
I highly doubt that Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna will be welcome in St Petersburg.

Co-Opted by ex Communist Putin, for his own purposes, these Romanov's need their heads examined...

Eh... what has communism to do with it? In a drunken mood a Communist (Khrushchev) added Crimea, with one scratch from his pen, to Ukraine. A peninsula which was Russian since tsarist times. Just wham! Ukrainian, from now on. Nobody was asked anything at all. So what is your point with labelling Putin "ex Communist"? I fail to see any relevance.

Since Crimea and Stebastopol always have been part of tsarist Russia and were home to the tsarist fleet, it is hardly surprising anyway that the imperial family is sympathetic towards the re-union of Crimea with Russia.

[....]
I highly doubt that Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna will be welcome in St Petersburg.

Heu... Grand-Duchess Maria Vladimirovna has already been in St Petersburg many times, she has visited the former imperial palaces, she has been to Peterhof, to Tsarskoye Selo, to the Pavlovsk Palace, she has visited the graves of her ancestors, she has visited the Hermitage, she has been received by officials of the city, she has attended the burials of the last Tsar and his family, her very own mother Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhranskaya was buried at the Fortress of the Saints Peter and Paul in St Petersburg, so I don't understand your doubt that she will be welcome in St Petersburg... She has been there pretty regularly....

The "taxpayers expense" will be very limited by the way. Imagine that the Grand-Duchess gets an office somewhere in Tsarskoye Selo, tja... these buildings are already there, are maintained, are heated, etc. With or without an occupant, it will cost public money.

For the cost of one new Sukhoi PAK-FA (the newest fighter for the Russian Air Force) they provide an office and a staff to Maria Vladimirovna, for 100 years. All is relative.

Also a State Dinner or State visit will cost the same whether it is a royal or politician doing it. Having royals in residence could bring attention to Tsarskoye Selo and more tourist dollars. Royals bring interest to palaces/castles and they can make more money than the tourists visit to the home of a President. The added attention of the Royal Wedding in the UK increased tourism and ticket sales especially to see the wedding dress, and thus covered the wedding costs. If Maria replaced a position, she would probably cost about the same. Prince Nikola of Montenegro was brought back as a paid addition at the same salary as the President. They are also spending 6 million over six years getting the infrastructure, living arrangements, etc up and going. The palaces are already up and going in Russia and used as tourist attractions, so I don't think living arrangements would be that much. That is all chump change to Russia and Putin hates doing a lot of the events so he might be willing to do it just to get out of certain events. Generally constitutional monarchs cost less than presidents to a country.

Constitution Monarchs cost less than president's because then you need a Prime Minister or a President who gets paid and need money, too. It cost more, but only seems to be calculated here on the single dimension.

As far as I know, whether you have a President or a Monarch there is also a Prime Minister or a Vice President, so no additional person needed for Constitutional Monarchy. Name a country with a President and no Vice-President or Prime Minister? Plus we are talking about Russia which has a Prime Minister and a President. When you do a side by side comparison of Constitutional Monarch vs Republic, like the UK to France, you see the UK monarchy costs less. Absolute ones in the Middle East do cost more.

And the eventual costs made for an office/residence/staff for Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova are nothing compared with the immense cost of the loss of Romanov lifes, brutally murdered during the revolution. It is nothing compared with the brutal confiscations, stealing and looting of countless properties. Such an office or a residence is a minimal "compensation", in comparison.

It is a futile exercise to make Russians feel guilty about the unfortunate demise of the Imperial house. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirvna already did it.
In truth, I find your ardent speeches in Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna's favour puzzling.

__________________"I never did mind about the little things"
Amanda, "Point of No Return"

What is the majority of the Russisns? The ones reacting on a blog? Are the reactions in online newspapers, the open sewers, alse representing a 'majority'?

And my feelings for Maria Vladimirovna: I am a monarchist and that is also why I visit this forum. I admire Maria Vladimirovna for her unstoppable zest and I hope she will get a secretariat and housing. In a wing of Peterhof, Pavlovsk or something would be wonderful.

Of course, you are fully entitled to your opinion. I find your suggestions to the Russian government odd. While you like Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna's zest, I think that she tends to have charm and deportment of a fishwife.

__________________"I never did mind about the little things"
Amanda, "Point of No Return"